Ian Pretyman Stevenson, M.D., was a Canadian psychiatrist.
His research included reincarnation claims, near-death experiences,
apparitions (death-bed visions), the mind-brain problem, and survival
of the human personality after death.

In 1967, Stevenson was appointed as Director of the Division of Personality Studies (later renamed Division of Perceptual Studies) (DOPS) and, for a period was also Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia.[2] Stevenson resisted efforts to have the word "parapsychology" used to describe his department and research, arguing that his work was distinct from parapsychology, and was an extension of his more mainstream psychiatric work.

Stevenson went on to conduct additional field research about
reincarnation in Africa, Alaska, British Columbia, Burma, India, South
America, Lebanon, Turkey, and many other places. The children studied
usually started recalling their past life story between the ages of two and
four, yet seem to have forgotten it by seven or eight. There were
frequent mentions of having died a violent death, and apparently clear
memories of the mode of death. Stevenson also gathered testimonies
as well as medical records of information on birthmarks, birth defects,
and other physical evidence for reincarnation.

Stevenson published only for the academic and scientific community, and
his over 200 articles and several books -- densely packed with research
details and academic argument —- can be dauntingly technical for general
audiences. His research, over 3,000 study cases, provides evidence that
Stevenson argued supported the possibility of reincarnation, though he
himself was always careful to refer to them as "cases suggestive of
reincarnation" or "cases of the reincarnation type."

Fintan
You have reminded me of something I have not thought of in a long time. I hesitate to share the story below, but do because I agree that we are "ascending" and that maybe there is something to simultaneous incarnations, I came to those ideas b/c of my daughter.

Many years ago our 2-year-old daughter Marisa was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. We were told to go home and try to live a normal life. Between the ages of 2 and 4 Marisa said a lot of things I could not grasp at the time, and I'm still not sure I completely do.

She told me when she was in the hospital she had died. Of course I told her she had not died b/c she was here with us. She insisted she had died, said she was with "someone" but told "someone" she had to return b/c I still needed her. (We never attended church but explained all religious theories to the kids over the years, if they showed an interest.) She didn't really have a word or name for this "being" but said "he" told her she could return to me.

Anyway, I then asked her what "someone" looked like. She said she couldn't see b/c the light was so bright she couldn't open her eyes. I asked if the voice that told her she could return was a man or woman's voice. She said there was no sound, just "thinking."

She also told me "One time I was your mother." And sometimes I felt she was as she had more wisdom than the adults I know.

Once she scribbled a heart with M&M for mom and Marisa and said "like the M's we are the same." I said yes, our names both begin with M and she said "no mom, you and me are the same person."

Wish I had known then what I know now, but maybe I did, or do. Does this make any sense? But thank you for reminding me._________________There is a side of every competitor that wants to leave his opponent lifeless and demoralized on the side of the road. And then there is that other, darker side.

Great show, Fintan, although there were moments when you were losing me, you reeled me back in by the close and it all snapped into focus. I spent a rather sleepless night considering all the implications of what you had laid out, and just have to ask the obvious question...what about genetics?
I kept waiting for you to bring this into the discussion on some level, but the 'g' word never made an appearence. It left me wondering if you consider the standard explanations for dominant traits and familial resemblence to be fundamentally flawed, jsut another scientific guffaw, or not even part of the equation?

So, any englightment on that aspect of your theory would be appreciated.

I must admit, though, mere hours before I heard this show yesterday I had a conversation with my oldest daughter where we discussed just this concept, that she was literally 'carrying the torch' for some of my incomplete battles and discarded ideologies. And even though she and I share a strong emotional/mental bond, our appearances could not be more different! No one ever believes she is my daughter, she's twice my size and bears little to no resembance to me. We've often wondered if we were the same being trying to 'span the spectrum' from the micro to the macro (I'm barely 5', she's over 6'!). And the fact that she resembles my GODMOTHER (for whom she was named) more than any of us is a real head-scrather.

Anyway, thanks for firing up the brain cells again, Fintan, we can always count on you to keep fanning the flames. I have a zillion more questions, but I'll keep them at bay until I get this big DNA question under control.

And I also found this interesting lecture late last night tackling the same topic from another aspect...so many ways to look at our entanglement...

_________________Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

evelyn:
Many years ago our 2-year-old daughter Marisa was diagnosed with
inoperable brain cancer..... She told me when she was in the hospital she
had died..... I asked if the voice that told her she could return was a man
or woman's voice. She said there was no sound, just "thinking."

So sorry to hear that about your beautiful Marisa.
It sounds like she was being communicated with
voicelessly by our collective Supermind/God.

Quote:

She also told me "One time I was your mother."......
....she said "no mom, you and me are the same person."

Amazing. I'm trying to discern what she was saying. You could certainly
interpret her "same person" comment as an indication of familial
overlapping incarnation. She also said that once she was your mother.
Which is saying the same thing again: that overlap has been the pattern
of your incarnations.

It's astonishing to hear such an acute grasp of fundamental
realities coming from a child. Always leaves me breathless.

You might be interested in more comments by children. They were
posted in two online forums by a mother and others have responded
in the forums, trying to figure out the story:

Quote:

Have 3 of my children lived before???

Hi everyone,
Im a mum of a few children (7) and 3 of them have spoken about incidents that ive shrugged off until recently.

My 2nd child (boy) at the age of 2-3 often said 'I lived before' when i asked him what happened to him, he replied 'I died in a car crash, it was a yellow car' I thought it rather strange but at that time (1995) i didnt question it, as i didnt give reincarnation a much thought really, now i wish i did!

My daughter (now 7, no older sisters) is the one that goes to extreme detail at times about her 'other family', mainly saying 'i miss my father'

Ive recently asked her questions but she doesnt remember a great deal now, just snippets now and then... the things she said in the past are, (ill try and script it):
(girl) I miss my sister
(mum) you had a sister?
(girl) yes
(mum) where is she?
(girl) shes died now
(mum) oh how did she die?
(girl) she died in the house, she couldnt get out
(mum)what happened?
(girl)the house was on fire and she couldnt get out
(mum)you got out though
(girl) yes i saved my baby brother
(mum) you had a baby brother too?
(girl) yes but my older sister died, i couldnt save her..

This sort of conversation pretty much went on, she repeated the same thing from the age of around 3 till now (7) its fading but nothing changes, its always the same story.
She said her 'other mum' got killed and her father looked after her and her sister and baby brother, she missed her 'father' terribly.

What makes it even more strange is, we have never used the word 'father' before, not even grandfather, its grandad to me, my husband and to my children, father is a very old type of family word i think?? ...seems strange that she used it meaning 'dad' when talking about her old family.

We never thought much of it has my daughter is being assessed, she has severe speech and language difficulties and has autistic traits, although no specific name/umbrella has been diagnosed as yet.

What got us all thinking more into this was my younger son now 2 has started talking about, what we think is a past incident.
throughout the day, but mainly at night, he will talk about a 'crash'
this is our script, as such.
(boy)mummy crash
(mum)crash?
(boy) yes crash, my did it
(mum) you did it?
(boy) no my did it, crash

we've asked him "is Myle a lady?"... ..."yep"... ..."is Myle a boy?"... "No!"... "a man?"... ..."NO!"... ..."a lady".. ..."YES!!... ..."Myle gone, Myle dead". Myle is not a name i've ever heard before, or anybody else in our family or circle of friends and our son isnt at pre-school yet so has no 'outside friends' as such.

He also has his own vocabulary for certain words and always has. For example; 'thank you' has always been "Dung-Di", now this isn't even similar, not even a miss-pronunciation, how does that come about??

Its pretty much the same story all the time with a little more detail every few nights... happens throughout the day, but is
by far most intense when he is very sleepy.

This is why it brought it back to me about my 2nd son, whos now 14yr. when he spoke about 'a crash'???..

Wow, that took some typing!
Thankyou for taking the time to read this, any advice would be great!

LelaBear:
I spent a rather sleepless night considering
all the implications of what you had laid out...

Well congratulations for that! Because I know many people simply
unconsciously "forget" about these kind of insights. It's not deliberate
at a conscious level. It just drops off their radar within hours of hearing,
because it's too discomforting to face up to and deal with --even though
it may answer all the deep questions about life.

Quote:

LelaBear:
It left me wondering if you consider the standard explanations for
dominant traits and familial resemblence to be fundamentally flawed,
just another scientific guffaw, or not even part of the equation?

I didn't want to get deep into mechanisms in that audio, but the big flaws
with genetics include:

Assumption that DNA is a government/bible which calls the shots.
In fact the "junk DNA" and RNA are co-creating the DNA functionality.
This is why their Dolly sheep get sick and die.

Assumption that these processes are random, when they are subject
to environmental factors such as intentional quantum effects and the
magentic/solar infludnces detailed in that great video you posted. The
underlying patterns want to express, they find ways to do so.

Failure to apply Bucky Fuller's insights and realize that DNA is
dodecahedral in structure. This flaw pretty much renders most of
genetics deeply flawed as to fundamental process:

LelaBear:
I had a conversation with my oldest daughter where we discussed just
this concept...... We've often wondered if we were the same being trying
to 'span the spectrum' from the micro to the macro (I'm barely 5', she's
over 6'!). And the fact that she resembles my GODMOTHER (for whom
she was named) more than any of us is a real head-scrather.

She resembles you godmother?
Then that seems to solve that question!_________________Minds are like parachutes.
They only function when open.

So much food for thought! Thanks for the link to the Perfect Code theory, it puts a much more 'fractal' spin on the process, which was always way too linear for my taste. Now to tie that into the concept of the individual developing it's identity (code) using a structure (fractal branching) that become more prolific as it reaches maximum diversity. Hmmm.

Now, staying with the 'treeincarnation' model, the next question is what happens when the tree reaches it's full potential? Since branching growth is not an 'eternal' process, the tree would eventually reach a maximum capacity for it's environment, die and return to the earth to create nutrients for future generations...so the forest itself would remain fundamentally the same but the specific structure of that tree would be gone.

I have been using an old oak that sits outside my abode as my model for contemplating these ideas. Just last week I had the strangest incident where I was inside looking at it through the venetian blinds, and I thought it was raining outside, there seemed to be a fine mist slanting down through the sunlight. But when I stepped outside, it was dry as could be! I stepped back in and looked through the blinds again and could still see the 'rainfall' quite clearly. I went back outside and sat down by the tree contemplating this 'illusion' I was seeing, wondering if there was actually some kind of material raining down that was not moisture but another substance (dark matter?) ...when suddenly all hell broke loose above me and a 30' long branch broke off about 40' up and started crashing through the canopy. Luckily it wedged about 20' above me, but it left me stunned by the implications.

I felt like I had been exposed to a demonstration of some sorts. I mean, why did 'my tree' pick that particular moment to discard a perfectly healthy branch...because close examination revealed there was nothing wrong with it! There was no wind or other external reason for this event.

Anyway, we got the broken branch taken down and cut into logs (we're going to make a retaining wall with them, they are strong and sturdy) and I noticed that there was a lot more light in my little forest than before. That night I listened to the recent treeincarnation broadcast and started considering the implications based on that branch crashing incident. Lots of ideas were forming, but not coalescing (thus the sleepless night!)

But when I went outside yesterday morning and looked at the forest, I noticed that the little tree that was growing under the big oak who dropped the branch had suddenly flowered! Apparantely having access to all that sunlight spurred it to bloom. And even more amazing was the realization that the shape of the flowers corrresponded with the sensation I got as my consciousness grasped the implications of the treeincarnation theory! Don't know how to make that idea clear, but the flowers looked like little coral branches, and that was exactly how my brain felt as those revelations unfolded!

So, somewhere in there is a parable, I just thought I would share it as I contemplate the lesson. Any insight would be appreciated!_________________Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

The links that took me to the "imaging" and "affirmations" is something I can relate to, I began doing those with Marisa and still do. I used to sit in the rocking chair with her and image the cancer cells disappearing, when that didn't seem to be working I thought maybe the cells had to have a host so I would image them leaving her brain and entering mine. Then one day she told me to "stop doing that mom." I thought I was holding her too tight or something and asked her "stop doing what?" She said "stop seeing those pictures." But I have found imaging/affirmation helpful in my life since.

The moment she was born and I looked into her face I thought to myself "this is the changing child, but she won't always be with me." I thought at the time that was a crazy thing to think, of course children change us and they all grow up and leave home.

One time at the hospital I pulled her little wagon to a craft fair the hospital was putting on and we found a tiny handcarved music carousel that she wanted me to have. The song it plays is "To Dream the Impossible Dream." It became a sort of chant for me at times.

To dream ... the impossible dream ...
To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...
To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...
To run ... where the brave dare not go ...
To right ... the unrightable wrong ...
To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...
To try ... when your arms are too weary ...
To reach ... the unreachable star ...

I'm not sure I learned what I was supposed to learn from her, but after Marisa, I fear nothing and no one and that has passed on to my other children, and some grandchildren. I have a similar bond and intuitiveness with my other children, but not as spiritually "one" as it was with Marisa. Sometimes I still look for her in others.

I haven't listened to the other audios of treeincarnation and I admit there are some things I disagreed with on this one - in some ways the theory almost seems as if it locks us into a destiny we cannot control - or at least into an existence many never intuitively grasp the meaning of. I don't think I can find the words to explain what I mean.

I think genetics play a role only in our outward appearance, propensity to disease, color, height, etc. All else I believe is the environment and the human spirit.

Also I'm wondering, perhaps you've addressed it, but if we are ascending - are there also those who are descending? I consider that a possibility just watching the evening news. I haven't decided, and may not in this lifetime, if we ascend to a certain level and never return b/c we've reached the ultimate level - or if we reach that level and begin to descend, sort of like a circle/cycle. Maybe we have to descend to fertilize new growth in the forest so to speak. Most of the time I prefer the former, never returning, b/c I really don't want to do this again._________________There is a side of every competitor that wants to leave his opponent lifeless and demoralized on the side of the road. And then there is that other, darker side.

LelaBear:
Now, staying with the 'treeincarnation' model, the next question is what
happens when the tree reaches it's full potential? Since branching growth
is not an 'eternal' process, the tree would eventually reach a maximum
capacity for it's environment, die and return to the earth to create
nutrients for future generations..

I'd have to think some more about this, but I do see "leaf" itself as the
eternal component in this. Each of us is a leaf. The trees is the structure
enabling the seasonal emergence, re-emergence, and repeated
re-emergence of individual leaves(each of us a leaf).

In 3D space a tree does have a branching limit mature size).
It then settles down into recycling leaves seasonally. But if we accept
that 3D space itself is based on Fuller's spherical structures, then it's
important to realize that he says the spheres of the VE system underlying
3D are not spatially restricted. 3D space is a dimensionally
restricted resultant of these conceptual(mind) spheres. So there is no
branching limit to mind.

You seems to have really strong intuitive/synchronistic faculties from
you description of what happened around the time you listened to the audio.

That sunlight-mist sounds like a soft rain of illumination pouring down
on us all right now. The tree in your yard discarding what was a
seemingly a perfectly fine and functional branch looks like a symbol for
our/your imminent discarding of the social/mental structure which right
now seems to be normal, and functional. Tellingly you say:

Quote:

That night I listened to the recent treeincarnation broadcast and
started considering the implications..... Lots of ideas were forming.... But when I
went outside yesterday morning I noticed that the little tree that was
growing under the big oak who dropped the branch had suddenly
flowered!

Make way for the new social/mental tree!_________________Minds are like parachutes.
They only function when open.

I'm not sure I learned what I was supposed to learn from her,
but after Marisa, I fear nothing and no one....

Again, if Marisa is you..... then you/she was allowing youself to not
"hold tight," but to release all fear and live the impossible dream.
Even to the extent of not imaging the future but living it regardless
of outcome.

If so she was (and still is) your own intuitive wisdom.

Quote:

the theory almost seems as if it locks
us into a destiny we cannot control

As Marisa says: all locks can be opened, no need to control destiny.
It's all good. It always works out right.

Quote:

evelyn:
If we are ascending - are there also those who are descending?
I consider that a possibility just watching the evening news.

I've pondered this a lot myself in the past. I wouldn't mind if some
people were descending - permanently (starting with George Bush
Senior lol). But he's simply teaching himself and those who ever
admired him how not to do it. That's essential to foster wisdom.
So, in the end, I can't reject any teacher -even GHWB.

Economies ascend and descend. Seasons too.
But Wisdom only increases, only ascends.
In fits and starts, with occasional setbacks.
But wisdom always grows in the end.

And we.... ARE Wisdom itself.

Ascendant._________________Minds are like parachutes.
They only function when open.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Fintan. I really think you're onto something here, and especially since I've seen it in action in my own backyard. Something is going on, something wonderful!

Here's a image of the new flower on the 'teaching tree'!

All the proof I need that something very organic, natural and fundamentally beautiful (albeit a bit frightening in the process) is happening all around us. Nothing to fear, everything to gain! Let it rain!_________________Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

Fintan, your responses make sense to me, thanks. And I should take my own advice (my mom's), as I have always told my family and friends that everything works out the way it is intended, even if at the time we don't like it or want it. I think where some people run afoul is not learning something from the process and repeatedly trying for different outcomes. Of course sometimes it's good to work for a different outcome. I think there's a fine line between managing and manipulating, between acceptance and resignation, between insight and self-delusion, etc. My mom used to say "some people live and learn, others just exist." I find that sad, but probably necessary.

I feel at times I'm operating on a different level than most folks, but that's okay, it doesn't make me superior, just on a different level. I try to avoid and stay out of harm's way from those on levels that are destructing though. I think that's why we have intuition, and recognize it in others. It explains why some people we instantly like on first meeting, and those we dislike, why we know something isn't kosher or not. Vibes? 6th sense?

When I mentioned "destiny/control" I was thinking on a more personal level, slavery. Being repeatedly born into that environment, etc. I believe one of the greatest disservice we do is not knowing our past - I have traced all 4 grandparent lines, two lines back to 1640, and what I learned has been awesome, which is one reason I think environment and spirit determine our essence more than sperm/egg. We must know our roots. Not necessarily genetic/bio roots, but the lineage of our familial environments which shaped us, for if we are reborn among ourselves, or in proximity, we're returning to familiar environments.

As for the tree analogy I wonder about that. If a tree develops disease or infestation it has to be tended to or die. Usually lopping off affected parts or harsh chemicals ... if we are a human tree of life, would all the evil (for lack of a better word) that we see in the world need to be tended to pronto lest the whole tree die? Or do we watch the tree die, return to fertilize, and new healthy saplings spring from the mother root? Maybe the world is separate trees and some will die and others grow healthy and strong. Do empires see themselves as healthy trees who must fell other trees b/c they are "unhealthy" ?

I see similarities between organized religion (Judaism/Christiian/Muslim) and the ideas we're discussing here - they just seem to have more dogma and collection plates, and an iron clad path to their idea of "heaven".

There seems to be a crushing amount of political and religious fertilizer in the world, would we be freer to grow w/o all this shit?

I could list a thousands questions and probably a thousand different theories/answers. All in all though, this life is interesting to say the least._________________There is a side of every competitor that wants to leave his opponent lifeless and demoralized on the side of the road. And then there is that other, darker side.

I see similarities between organized religion (Judaism/Christiian/Muslim)
and the ideas we're discussing here - they just seem to have more
dogma and collection plates, and an iron clad path to their idea of
"heaven". There seems to be a crushing amount of political and religious
fertilizer in the world, would we be freer to grow w/o all this shit?

There is a huge difference, which I try to emhasize by talking about this
being where "Reality rocks" in the intro to the audios. But it's hard to get
across because discussion of 'spiritual' issues makes a basic assumption.

But, unlike Judeo-Christian or Muslim or Bhuddist or other religious and
spiritual ideaologies, I'm arguing that there is NO Other Place where we
will all be happy foverer. I am saying it happens HERE, even NOW.
It simply involves us seeing the REALITY behind the mythic fog.

Anyway, movin on.....

I've had an interesting synchronicity myself. I spoke in Part 1 about
being born and raised in a place called Woodstock Gardens. And today
the 18th May is the anniversary of my birth.

So, curiously these two articles appeared
in the UK telegraph today of all days:

Quote:

Woodstock theme for 21st Anniversary of Next Directory

Next Directory paved the way for the online shopping
revolution, and it’s still going strong 21 years later

Hilary Alexander 1:54PM BST 18 May 2009

In January 1988, Kenny Everett’s television show was riding high in the ratings, the yet-to-be-ennobled Andrew Lloyd Webber made the cover of Time magazine as “magician of the musicals”, George Michael’s Faith was Number 1, Kate Moss hadn’t been discovered – and up and down the country, thousands of courier deliveries were heralding a seismic change in shopping by telephone.

The package that started the armchair-revolution, landing with a loud but stylish thump on doorsteps, contained a 350-page catalogue. It was called Next Directory – and it was destined to change the style, scale and nature of mail-order fashion for ever.

Hardbacked, glossy and stylish, the directory was photographed in the manner of a Vogue editorial by the likes of Herb Ritts, Neil Kirk, Pamela Hansen and Gilles Bensimon, with expert styling in amazing locations. And it starred, among others, Uma Thurman, a young Yasmin Le Bon, Veronica Webb and Karen Mulder, the first of a bevy of international modelling stars who would grace its pages........

Ang Lee, speaking to a journalist here at Cannes, confessed he's long
been keen to make a feel-good movie: "I deserve it." Taking Woodstock
is certainly no Brokeback Mountain or Lust, Caution.

It's a sunny-side-up account of the famous hippy festival in upstate New
York, timed to coincide with its fortieth anniversary this year, that
unashamedly plays up its comedy and youthful idealism.

The outside world - war in Vietnam and in the Middle East - gets barely a
look-in as artist Elliot Teichberg (comedian Demetri Martin) returns home
to help his parents run their ailing semi-rural motel.

Things look bleak until, with a last throw of the dice, he gives the go-
ahead to a 'music and arts festival'. Cue: over a million naked, unwashed
and tripping young people invading the peaceful community......